Patterned electroplating is used in micromechanical structure fabrication, such as for microactuators and magnetic micromotors. Patterned electroplating is also used in the manufacture of thin film inductive heads used in magnetic recording systems, such as disk drives. Patterned electroplating generally involves electroplating a substrate through a patterned photosensitive polymeric resist film disposed on the substrate. Generally, a photosensitive diazonaphthoquinone-novolac resist is used in the plating process. However, a continuing problem in the industry is delamination of the resist film and underplating during the electroplating process. This problem is pronounced in the manufacture of inductive heads due to the adhesion problem of photoresist to nickel/iron alloy.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a patterned electroplating process which is resistant to delamination and is readily strippable after the plating process. Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the following disclosure.